Taking her influence from Minnie Riperton, Aaliyah, and Stevie, Chicago’s Hi Love’s vocals will fill you with fire and leave you with chills. Speaking with Hip Hop Weekly, she condensed her approach to making music in just one line: “Get busy and work like any day could be my last day.”
She’s never been one to wait for the right moment to come to her, so she’s made her own, an attitude which has found her working with Kanye West, as well as two other Grammy Award-Winning Producers, Needlz and NO I.D. Hi Love speaks from the heart, and with that comes a natural versatility and a relatable honesty that grabs listeners from the first note.
Hi Love’s passion for ’90s hip-hop shines through the entirety of her full-length album, ‘Cold Wind’; and second single from that record, ‘Queen & Slim’, celebrate the second single, is a celebration of a love that’s young and new but true and timeless.
From the big, encompassing drums and momentous synths to Hi Love’s soaring, soulful voice, this song gets everything right. Produced by Trackhouse, it’s impossible to deny that Hi Love is putting everything on the line. This vibe is taken further in the video for ‘Queen & Slim’, where we find her balancing between two very different worlds, yet feeling equally at home in both. One is among the high-rises that make up the iconic lakeshore skyline; the other is an ordinary playground down the block in any Chicago neighbourhood. Hi Love knows how to fill these worlds as easily as she lives in each of her song’s subject matters.
Directed by Chollette, the clip follows a day in the life of two starry-eyed young things seem like they’ve fallen in love for the first time. There’s flowers, a takeaway, even a game of Uno, and an afternoon playing on the swings. All the while, Hi Love turns up the voltage as she performs:Â there’s no bells and whistles, yet somehow you know you’re looking at a star.
Find out for yourself. And check out Hi Love’s official website for more information about this incredible singer and her music.
